Heavy-Hitting Hybrids

The cost of farming is rising, so make sure you're getting the most for your money when it comes to seed. With so many choices out there, let Corn & Soybean Digest help. We asked major seed companies for their heavy-hitting hybrids for 2009, and have compiled them for you. Check out these top picks for the 2009 growing season.

This guide should be used as a starting point for selecting hybrids for next year. Be sure to also consider university, independent and company trial data when making your decisions.

2009 HYBRIDS KEY

Hybrids are listed alphabetically by company, grouped into three relative maturity (RM) zones:

EARLY SEASON (75-104 days)

MID-SEASON (105-112 days)

LATE SEASON (113-120 days)

Most herbicide and insect treatments are abbreviated. They include:

Agrisure Corn Borer (CB)

Agrisure Glyphosate Tolerant (GT)

Agrisure Rootworm (RW)

Clearfield (CL)

Herculex 1 (HX1)

Herculex XTRA (HXX)

Liberty Link (LL)

Roundup Ready (RR)

Roundup Ready 2 (RR2)

Vectran Triple (VT3)

YieldGard Corn Borer (YGCB)

YieldGard Plus (YGPL)

YieldGard VT Triple (YGVT3)

Editor's Note: This list isn't intended to be comprehensive. Companies included on this list were identified through Corn & Soybean Digest's 2008 Reader Profile. The top companies named by growers are listed.

EARLY SEASON

AGRIGOLD

Consistent girthy ear style with fast drydown

Exceptional yield, profit potential in primary zone

Consistent yield levels across all environments

A6189 — 94-day RM (VT3, RR)

Consistent performance on better soils at higher populations

Excellent grain quality with high test weight

Exceptional yield, profit potential

A6149 — 90-day RM (VT3, Conventional)

Excellent yield-to-moisture ratio with very good drydown

Adapted to various soils, environments

Outstanding yield potential for maturity

CROPLAN

3514VT3 — 95-day RM (VT3)

VT3 version of high-yielding 3555, for high-rainfall, high-moisture environment of Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio

High top-end yield when placed on best soils with aggressive fertility